A NEW documentary claims alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate’s ‘right-hand man’ might be the ringleader of his organisation.
The BBC film puts forward the theory that a secretive American going by the name of Iggy Semmelweis is the sinister driving force behind Tate’s "cult-like" clan.
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Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan outside the Bucharest Court of Appeal Credit: Reuters 7
Iggy Semmelweis is said to be the real leader of Tate's so-called 'War Room' Credit: Iggy_Semmelweis/TWITTER
Grey bearded Semmelweis is accused of encouraging male members of Tate's exclusive club, called the War Room, to groom young women into becoming sex workers.
Former kick-boxer and Big Brother contestant Tate, 36, is currently under house arrest in Romania facing allegations of rape, human trafficking and creating an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.
Semmelweis has not been accused of any wrongdoing by any justice system.
The BBC3 documentary titled Andrew Tate: The Man Who Groomed the World? examines the War Room “generals” who teach new recruits.
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Semmelweis is described as the “spiritual leader” and “master of spells and shadows.”
Leaked War Room messages show him telling followers to “punish” women and push them to get their names tattooed onto their bodies as a way of asserting dominance.
A message from Semmelweis says: “We punish her for a transgression - real or imagined - by having her get our own name tattooed on her, leaving her family’s home/apartment/town/country, WebCamming/stripping/walking the track for us, getting us girls.”
On his Twitter page Semmelweis also calls himself Shi Yan Hui and claims “I Make Men Better, I Make Men Stronger, I Make Men Wealthier, More Quickly Than You Could Ever Believe Possible.”
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Leaked War Room messages show Semmelweis, pictured with Tate, telling followers to 'punish' women Credit: WeedMubarak/Twitter 7
One of Iggy Semmelweis's messages to War Room members Credit: BBC
But according to BBC journalist Matt Shea, whose previous work includes a documentary for Vice titled The Dangerous Rise of Andrew Tate, Semmelweis’s real name is Miles Sonkin.
The mother of Sonkin, 62, originally from Chicago, was a TV psychic and in the 1980s he reportedly joined a couple of different cults.
One was free love guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s controversial spiritual cult which was the subject of the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country.
According to the BBC report, Semmelweis also went by the name of Douglas Hall in the 1990s, claiming to be the “world’s greatest pick-up artist”.
We punish her for a transgression - real or imagined - by having her get our own name tattooed on her
Iggy Semmelweis
That combination of personal 'enlightenment' and bedding women form a key part of Tate’s pitch to potential acolytes.
Shea met both Tate and Semmelweis when he went through a War Room initiation process for a previous investigation.
This time the reporter got hold of 12,000 pages of secret War Room chats, which point to how influential Semmelweis is in the group.
Semmelweis is believed to have met American born Tate, who grew up in Luton, in 2018 shortly before the SabreTate organisation was formed.
The War Room is all about getting women who serve you
Eli, whistleblower
It costs over ￡6,000 a year to join the War Room, which Tate described as the “illuminati but cooler”.
The shadowy organisation’s website positions itself as something akin to the Freemasons.
Numerous members boast about boosting their wealth thanks to the connections they have made in the War Room.
But one former disciple tells reporter Shea that there is a focus on making money from X-rated video cam shows.
The man, named only as Eli, says: “The War Room is all about getting women who serve you… to eventually do OnlyFans webcam, which was encouraged to you in the War Room.”
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Andrew Tate after leaving the Bucharest Tribunal Credit: AP 7
One of the alleged victims speaks to Shea in the documentary Credit: BBC
The leaked chats talk about a PhD course - which stands for 'Pimpin' Hoes Degree'.
Eli said that he thinks Semmelweis is at the top of the War Room hierarchy.
He also told how war roomers are expected to give up their friends and family, which is similar to cult-like behaviour.
Threat to society
Shea believes that the threat Tate and the War Room poses to society needs to be taken more seriously.
He claims: “This is the thing people need to understand - followers don’t have a political interest in Andrew Tate – they see him as a spiritual leader, as a messiah.
“He saved them from the depths of their insecurity and brought them out of whatever it is that they were struggling with.”
But there are other generals in the War Room.
One going under the name Joe Lampton boasted in an online chat about physically assaulting his partner.
He wrote "I took her keyboard and hit her in the head with it. She went into the room and worked seven hours without any break."
I took her keyboard and hit her in the head with it
Joe Lampton
Another ‘general’ is said to be a former United States Air Force pilot called Jonathan Bowe.
Several alleged victims speak in the documentary, including one woman who goes by the pseudonym Amanda.
She claims she was slapped across the face by a 'general' who exploited her and showed photographs of bruising, adding: "He had control of everything."
Amanda said she gave away up to 80 per cent of what she earned at any one time - totalling $95,000 - to two War Room members.
Shea put his allegations to Semmelweis in person, but he refused to answer any of his questions.
Tate has repeatedly denied the charges of rape, human trafficking and former an organised crime group.
His lawyers threatened to sue one his female accusers for ￡249million.
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A spokesperson for Tate also denied the claims made in the BBC documentary.
Andrew Tate: The Man Who Groomed the World? is streaming on BBC iPlayer now and will broadcast on BBC3 at 9pm tonight.
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BBC reporter Matt Shea outside Tate's Romanian compound Credit: BBC